Letter: Let’s move toward zero waste

Tuesday

Jul 8, 2014 at 4:30 PMJul 8, 2014 at 4:32 PM

Being a seasoned bartender in the Greater Boston area at a variety of venues, you can say I’ve had my fair share of interaction with bottles and cans. But, besides the different faces and menus, one major difference between each bar is the way in which they handle and recycle their bottles and cans.

Being a seasoned bartender in the Greater Boston area at a variety of venues, you can say I’ve had my fair share of interaction with bottles and cans. But, besides the different faces and menus, one major difference between each bar is the way in which they handle and recycle their bottles and cans.

I’ve had the meticulous cleanups shifts, with organized and designated recycling/waste areas, and I’ve also had the closing shifts that required dumping everything in one giant trash bag, disposing it into one canister, and calling it a day.

I’ve seen firsthand how much is wasted, and have wondered many times how we can fix this massive problem that’s contributing to climate change, negative health impacts, lost money, and wasted resources.

By implementing a zero waste plan, which prioritizes meaningful community engagement, including providing and promoting greener jobs, as well as requiring businesses like this to recycle, we can turn this around and get Boston to zero waste by 2040.